Psychological clinical trials

Evaluation on the Effects of a Brief Hope Intervention to the Symptoms in the Palliative Care Patients

Aims. This paper describes the study protocol of a manualized brief positive intervention (BHI). In addition, it reports the on the modification of a hope intervention based on the theoretical proposition - hope theory, and its feasibility when applying to palliative cancer and non-cancer patients. Background. Hope was found to account for therapeutic changes in clients with depressive symptoms or chronic pain. Nevertheless, little is known about the integration of such active ingredients to brief and low intensity psycho-therapeutic interventions to patients receiving palliative care were not adequately tested. Design. The study included two stages: (1) manual development, and (2) a single blinded randomized controlled trial. Methods. Participants will be randomly assigned in equal number into either the brief hope intervention or the controlled arm on completion of the baseline assessment. Participants of the intervention group will be receiving the four-week intervention, while those allocated to the control arm will be receiving the routine care and social chats. The intervention is a manualized program that consists of four sessions at weekly intervals (two face to face sessions and two telephone follow up in between). The core content is modified from an eight sessions hope therapy. Expert panel feedback and trial on targeted populations were completed. Four participants received the program to determine its acceptability prior to feasibility testing. The process and practical considerations were evaluated to allow refinement of the program and to ensure the quality of intervention. Outcome measures comprise of changes in state hope score and the depression scores measured respectively by State Hope Scale and Centre for Epidemiological Study Depression Scale. The secondary outcomes are the common signs and symptoms in cancer patients measured by The Condensed Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. Data collection will be done prior to the intervention (baseline), immediately and one month after the intervention. Additional use of qualitative interview to explore their experiences in the intervention, including satisfaction with the intervention and the treatment fidelity will be conducted.